This invention relates to a system for the transmission of audio and combined video, data, multimedia programming and control signals to remote receiving locations for distribution under the command of the control signals. Transmission of audio and video signals to local receiving stations for immediate use, re-transmission or recordation for later transmission is a well-established practice, particularly in connection with distribution of television programming by various television networks and cable systems. Utilization of data to generate characters which are displayed on a video screen over a single color background or another video signal background is also established practice.
These practices have been combined with new technologies to create for viewers what appears to be continuous programming, but is really a sophisticated stream of many types of segments, or products, originating from different places. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 4,725,886 to Galumbeck and related U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,916,539 to Galumbeck and 5,140,419 to Galumbeck, which are incorporated herein in their entireties by this reference, disclose current communications systems utilizing novel hardware and software configurations to transmit conventional video and audio program material together with data and control commands within the constraints of conventional television signal specifications to remote signal processors or receivers within the system. The remote signal processors or receivers receive the entire transmission and process it in a predetermined manner such that the data and the conventional video and audio signals may be utilized at the remote receivers, under network control, particularly for transmission on local cable television systems.
This technology may be applied to any system for distributing information and is not limited to weather related information; however, the application of this technology may best be understood by analyzing the operation of an existing system such as The Weather Channel (TWC). TWC is an automated system for distributing and delivering weather related information, or “products” over broad areas.
The main classes of current TWC information are local weather segments, national weather segments and advertisements. All are presented in different ways and at different times, creating a multiplicity of products. These products vary in sophistication. For example, a product may be a relatively simple banner of text running across the bottom of a screen; a nationwide weather presentation by an On-Camera Meteorologist (OCM) with the help of satellite animation; or a multiframe radar map overlay sequences provided in data form to the cable headend and processed there for display to local viewers overlaid on a geographic map to show, for instance, movement of a storm system.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, at any time during the TWC programming day, there are two types of information which must be prepared at the TWC central facility and transmitted to the cable company for presentation of TWC programming: the national transmission 10, which is seen by all cable subscribers; and the local transmission 16, which is seen by viewers in selected corresponding cable markets. National transmission 10 is transmitted as a traditional audio/visual (A/V) signal originating at TWC headquarters 12 in Atlanta, Ga. The same signal carries (via subcarrier) local transmission 16, which is transmitted to the cable operator as data representing local weather information, advertising information and commands that instruct the cable headend, or receiving unit 14, on how to display the information. Receiving unit 14 periodically produces its own programming using the data sent by TWC. Receiving unit 14 passes national transmission 10 through during its time slot; however, during the time for the local transmission 16, locally-created graphics and programming (generated with data received from TWC) from receiving unit 14 are interposed.
The conventional TWC distribution system for local weather data can be thought of generally as a one-way client/server architecture, where raw data and A/V are sent to receiving unit 14. Receiving unit 14 then assembles the data for display (local transmission 16) or passes through the A/V signal (national transmission 10), depending on the instructions sent by TWC headquarters 12.
As illustrated in FIG. 2, three sources of information are drawn upon to create national transmission 10 and local transmission 16: weather data 18, affiliate database 20, and programming/scheduling 22. These sources are drawn upon by many subsystems to form the final programming seen by the cable subscriber.
The first source of information is data and graphics accumulated for weather forecasts from external sources and is collected in a system called the meteorology system 24, illustrated in FIG. 3. Not all information is passed from Meteorology system 24. Meteorology system 24 filters information as dictated by a local database called the meteorology system interest list.
Weather data 18 is collected by the National Weather Service (NWS) 26. NWS 26 has weather collection sites throughout the United States at airports, military bases, and other selected sites. These sites report each hour during their scheduled reporting time, which varies from six to twenty-four hours depending on requirements. Some sites are automated, while others are manual, with information being collected and presented either by machine or by personnel at the site.
A third party provider 28, disseminates that information to TWC in tabular and narrative form. Tabular data 30 is presented in fixed-length records with fixed-length fields or specific weather conditions. Character fields are typically left-justified and either maximum length or null-terminated. Numeric fields are either binary or right-justified with leading spaces. For example:
LocationTempDescriptionEtc.ATL75SUNNYETC.This information arrives at any time and typically includes information such as the temperature, wind speed, humidity and other weather related information for a particular location.
Other information provided by the weather reporting agencies includes weather warnings and advisories, which are provided as narrative data 32 in free-form text as variable length strings. Radar maps 34 are provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in run-length encoded form and are converted into a composite and sent to the field every fifteen minutes. Backup system 36 is provided in the event data cannot be received from TWC.
Referring to FIG. 2, to correctly route the information, affiliate database 20 stores the location and address of the cable operator (or the cable operator's equipment in cases where there may be multiple headends installed). Affiliate database 20 contains information needed to transmit weather data to cable operators. Much of the information focuses on reconciling a cable operator's zip code with their geographical longitude and latitude. This allows the information to be addressed to an appropriate location, so that, for instance, weather information relevant to Miami will be directed to the Miami receiving unit. This also allows tags and copy splits to be directed to the desired location. Tags are billboards appearing at the end of a commercial. They display the name and address of the local operator of a national company. For example, a Michelin Tire commercial could list the names of the local dealers. A copy split could include different commercials for different areas of the country.
Programming 22 includes information, advertisements, program direction, and camera assignments. Production is fully automated: cameras, sets, commercials, and weather data are presented on a predetermined schedule. OCM segments and other live action A/V are produced in an automated studio where the operation of cameras and other production equipment are controlled by an automated production engine 38. Production engine 38 creates and coordinates the live A/V transmission and command data feed.
FIG. 4 illustrates how information for this programming is directed into production engine 38. Entry of programming information to the system begins with the sale of commercial advertisements and sponsorships of programming. Sales proposal system 40 identifies and tracks potential customers. Also, sales are proposed and secured with contracts. Commercial contracts are entered into traffic system 42 by department personnel. Traffic system 42 classifies the terms of the contract. An advertisement schedule is then transferred to traffic system 42. Traffic system 42 also contains the programming schedule for TWC and, as such, the first draft for a programming day is developed there. In addition, traffic system 42 is the main scheduler, where the script is written for the programming day, including advertisements and schedules for national 10 and local 16 transmissions. A video tape of the commercial is loaded into a large videotape tower carousel 44, such as an Odetics. The stored commercials are then played according to a schedule log.
The Source Book program on computer 46 converts the commercial schedule from traffic system 42 into the schedule log. It coordinates the schedule with the computer commands to be sent to all equipment involved in the transmission period. Once compiled, this file is transferred from computer 46 to production engine 38 and tape carousel 44. Technical Directors at the production engine Edit Station perform any necessary real-time modifications.
The Source Book program produces OCM Guide Sheets 48. It produces hard copies of the schedule log specifically for the OCMs. This log then becomes the production script for live weather transmissions.
Referring to FIG. 2, production engine 38 also directs command data 50 to host 52. Weather data 18 and affiliate data 21 are combined with command data 50 to create the final command transmission 53 (provided by host 52), and a live A/V transmission 54 is created simultaneously. Next, command transmission 53 and the live transmission 54 are combined into one transmission 56. Transmission 56 is beamed via satellite to most of the cable operators in the US. Transmission 56 is captured by a satellite dish, decrypted by conventional decryption means such as General Instruments Videocypher II equipment and broken into its component parts—command data and video—and then sent to receiving unit 14.
Receiving unit 14 uses the information carried in the signal to produce the presentation seen by viewers and to pass-through audio and video. To accomplish this task, receiving unit 14 receives the national transmission 10 and a stream of command, advertising and weather data. When receiving unit 14 is instructed to pass-through national transmission 10, it directs the video signal, i.e., the national transmission, from the TWC to the cable operator's network, where it is seen by viewers. When instructed to show the local transmission 16, receiving unit 10 combines data and onboard graphics to produce local transmission 16. The pass-through of national transmission 10 is then interrupted and local transmission 16 is forwarded to the cable operator's network, where it is seen by viewers. Receiving unit 14 is capable of building graphics by running a custom scripting language. It can perform color shifts and simple radar map animations. The end result is that the cable subscriber receives programs formed of segments of national 10 and local 16 transmissions.
Referring to FIG. 5, one of the most important aspects of the current TWC system is the relationship between receiving unit 14 and host 52. Host 52 communicates with receiving unit 14 by sending commands. The commands either configure receiving units 14 or prepare and execute local transmission 16 (including programming such as advertising information).
There are two lines of communications between production engine 38 and host 52. First, there is a data communications line 58 between host 52 and production engine 38. As previously mentioned, production engine 38 produces the program day's schedule in its final form. Data line 58 sends an event list and ensures that production engine 38 and host 52 are synchronized. The second form of communications is the Take Line. This is a binary switch (5 volts=on, −5 volts=off) that instructs host 52 to initiate the next event.
In general, local weather is transmitted several times each hour; however, weather warnings or remote reports may be scheduled in an ad-hoc manner. Thus, the TWC system must be able to respond accordingly. In order to produce the desired programming, receiving units 14 typically respond to at least three command sets: cyclic, load and run. The task with the lowest priority is the cyclic command, which runs during each hour and sends all the configuration data needed to re-initialize receiving units 14. The cyclic command set is intended to refresh a receiving unit 14 that has lost power or been replaced. The cyclic command set is important because no current receiving unit 14 has any significant amount of permanent storage capability. The only storage provided consists of random access memory (RAM), backed up by a battery power supply. If the batteries fail, the configuration information is lost.
Another important command sent to receiving units 14 is the load command set. The load command set warns receiving units 14 of an impending local transmission 16. This allows time for loading the presentation into memory to eliminate delays in the transition from national 16 to local 10 transmissions.
After the load command set has been executed, the run command set is sent. This causes receiving units 14 to cut off national transmission 10 and begin local transmission 16. Three components of the run command set are: sensors, commercials and tags. The sensor component instructs those receiving units 14 that have weather sensing equipment attached to read those devices. The commercial component allows receiving units 14 to run local commercials. Upon receiving the run command, receiving units 14 signal local video equipment to run and turn off national transmission 10. The tag command instructs the receiving units 14 to produce a text output over or after a national commercial, thereby advertising local outlets.
Of course, these systems can be used to create all forms of programming and are not limited to weather-related information. For instance, educational, sports, entertainment, business, product marketing and other forms of information can be distributed in this manner. Furthermore, this system may be used to distribute information over media other than televisions, for instance, home computers. Nonetheless, these systems have several limitations which limit the quality and character of programming that may be displayed to the viewer and the flexibility with which product can be distributed on a national and local level.
In particular, bandwidth availability may limit the volume of information which may be transmitted to the various receiving units. Although compression technology has significantly expanded the amount of information that may be transmitted over a given channel, consumer demand for more information and increasing sophistication of multimedia products has caused even greater growth in the total volume of information which must be transmitted to create the ultimate program received by the viewer. One solution is simply to increase the number of channels used to transmit the information; however, rapid expansion in the number of content providers has limited the availability of additional channels (as well as increasing the cost of existing channels). This problem affects not only conventional communications channels, such as satellite transmission, but also more recently available channels, such as the Internet. Thus, it is desirable to limit the bandwidth required to transmit a given set of information by providing a system which coordinates the transmission of information in its various forms, i.e., analog and digital video and audio, data, etc. to maximize the utilization of the available channels and therefor the through-put.
The hierarchical addressing system as taught in the Galumbeck patents can limit the flexibility of product distribution over discrete areas. This is because the current scheme requires that a separate message be sent to each receiving unit unless the message is common to all of the receiving units within a given tier of the hierarchy. For example, a single message cannot be sent to only the receiving units in Miami and Los Angeles unless it is desired that all other receiving units within the same tier display that same message. If the message is only intended for Miami and Los Angeles, two separate messages must be sent. Due to the limited availability of bandwidth and transmission channels, the total number of messages being sent over a given period may be limited, often making it difficult or impossible to send individual messages to discrete receiving units.
Nonetheless, it may be desirable to send messages to individual receiving units based on non-hierarchical criteria. The current hierarchical structure is based on geographical boundaries, which is consistent with the needs of displaying weather data; however, other criteria for distributing information may be envisioned. For instance, it may be desirable to target distribution based on demographics for advertising purposes, e.g., locations with high proportions of retirees or males 18-24, etc. Thus, it would be desirable to provide a system for sending a single message addressed to multiple receiving units on a non-hierarchical basis without necessarily incorporating other, undesired receiving units.
The current system distinctly segregates A/V transmission and data transmissions. The data transmissions are handled by the product server/host/receiving unit system (the “command data system”) while the A/V transmissions are handled by the production system production engine 38 coordinates both signals to create the final sequence of products displayed to the viewer. It may be desirable to provide A/V data which can be displayed on the local rather than the national level; however, the current receiving unit does not have the capability of recording and replaying such large blocks of data. Furthermore, the command data system is not capable of producing and transmitting A/V data. Also, the production system is not capable of transmitting addressed data. Therefore it would be desirable to provide a system which can coordinate the transmission of an address through the command data system and the transmission of local A/V through the production system to a receiving unit capable of recording the local A/V and re-distributing it as is currently done with data.
The current receiving unit 14 may be accessed from the host via the transmission system as well as other means, including modems and the Internet; however, the multiplicity of communications protocols limits the flexibility of these communications. Also, it is difficult to coordinate multiple lines of communications to perform advanced functions such as monitoring of transmission reception via an Internet link. Thus it would be desirable to create an integrated communication system which allows the host to use a single interface regardless of the communications topology that is being used to communicate with the receiving unit.
The command data system comprises multiple hardware and software elements. Each of these elements must communicate effectively in order to ensure system functionality. As system complexity increases, however, it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain the integrity of inter-module communication, especially as particular elements are upgraded or replaced. Thus, it would be desirable to provide a standardized interface between the elements which allows data to be transmitted there between and allows an appropriate level of error checking to be used.
The current receiving unit can only perform limited manipulations of the data it receives. It would be desirable to provide a receiving unit which can perform advanced data manipulation. Performing more advanced manipulation requires a more sophisticated operating system and system diagnostics. Therefore an advanced receiving unit must also be capable of performing advanced housekeeping functions.
The current system relies on the production system and the meteorology system to provide the vast majority of products such as weather alerts and data formatting. This requires large amounts of data to be repeatedly transmitted. It would be desirable to provide the receiving unit with sufficient intelligence to perform much of the data formatting, such as plotting data on map-like representations and other advanced features such as identification of notable weather anomalies or patterns and independent product selection.
The current receiving unit presentation file is built and played at the same time, leaving these systems idle for most of the programming hour, then forcing them into a high state of utilization for the local weather transmission. Because the current receiving unit must “Build and Play” concurrently, it is limited by horsepower (as to the sophistication of its graphics) and by the desire to use the latest data. “Build and Play” is a requirement of these systems because of the lack of permanent storage limited their ability to build and store a play file. Thus, it would be desirable to provide a system that can store data and selectively retrieve and process that data in a manner that more effectively and efficiently uses the available resources, e.g., processor time, storage space, etc.